.-------------------. | Anime Boxes - FAQ | .-------------------. Last edited: Feb 13, 2026 What to do first? ----------------------------------- Anime Boxes is a client app for booru based sites, user is expected to be familiar with one of these sites. You should start by registering a server on your server list. How to register a new server? ----------------------------------- Navigate to the Server List, and press the add button. On the Server Form, set the server type, write the URL, and fill your credentials when needed. Then typing the URL, be sure it doesn't include any path. Most boorus now require HTTPS or will deny the request. For example: This is looks wrong: "http://someboorusite.com/index.php?..." This is looks correct: "https://someboorusite.com" What server type to pick? ----------------------------------- Normally any "Gelbooru 0.2.x [beta]" should be type "Gelbooru". Only use "Old Gelbooru 0.1.0" if the site says is using 0.1.0, but most boorus already moved to 0.2.x. Most Danbooru based sites are already using "Danbooru 2". Moebooru sites are the same "Danbooru". Philomena and Hydrus have their own type. On iOS you may use the Auto to detect the type automatically. What is an API? ----------------------------------- It allows communication between programs. In this case, Anime Boxes passes any request you make to the Server's API, and then present any results that are sent back server as is. Anime Boxes may alter the results based on your configuration, but you still have full control over this. What is an API Key? ----------------------------------- Most booru sites provide API keys now, you use them to authenticate requests instead of passwords. In some cases your account already has an API key, but on others, you have to generate an API key manually. What is error 401 - Unauthorized? ----------------------------------- This means the API requires credentials to connect. You will have to provide a password or API key, depending of the type of the site. What is error 403 - Forbidden? ----------------------------------- This means the site received the request but doesn't want to respond. For most cases, this happens because CloudFlare is blocking access to the API. There is an option "Validate Client" that will let you fetch a cookie that will let connect to the site. You can find duplicates of this option at certain locations of the App. The cookie only last 1 day, or during the session. What is "Validate Client" ----------------------------------- This option will open a web browser window that will try to load the website of the selected server. If CF is blocking access to it, you should see an anti-bot validator. Follow any instructions on the page to pass the validation and when the site loads, press the Close button. Anime Boxes will grab the cookies from the validation and use them to connect to the site. I added my API key and used Validate Client, but I still get an error, what else I'm missing? ----------------------------------- Some users reported problem when using the API keys that were automatically generated on their accounts. If you have never used it before, a possible solution for this is to generate a new API key: Gelbooru: Go to Settings > Account. Click on "Generate New Key?" box and press "Save". Page will reload and should generate a new one. Some users reported it wasn't working on some of the mobile web browsers (Opera?), try changing to another browser if this happening to you. Danbooru 2: Go to My Account > API Key - View. On the next screen press "+ add" button. Be sure to copy the ENTIRE content of the key, as is, and paste it on the API Key field on the Server Form. Another possible issue could be "Validate Client" option. Some users have reported that the option may not work the first time, try a second time and see if it works. Finally, there has been conflicting reports from users using VPNs. Some claim, it won't work when using a VPN, while others say they needed a VPN to connect. Is also recommended to try connecting from a different location, some users have mentioned it helps. I'm using a Gelbooru based site and some file types aren't loading. What can I do? ----------------------------------- This can happen if CloudFlare is blocking access to one the file servers. It may vary between boorus, but some of them have separated servers for the API, static files (like PNG, JPEG) and videos (like MP4, Webm). For example, if you can't load any of the static files, but videos load, it means CF is affecting the connection. Try using the Validate Client option and see if it works. Be sure to report back if the problem persist. How can I search? ----------------------------------- In all boorus, posts are described using tags, and you type a tag on the search field to search. An empty search will usually return the newest results. Different servers have different tag systems. Most boorus use "_" (underscore) to separate words on a tag, like "first_tag", and " " (empty) to separate multiple tags, like "first_tag second_tag". Some boorus don't use underscore. For these servers, always use "," (comma) to separate different tags, like "first tag, second tag". Even if the booru doesn't use commas, Anime Boxes will translate the request to something that the API understands. How can I search using OR? Not many boorus support OR searches (one tag or the other), and in some cases the implementation is not working. On their website look for a cheatsheet or a wiki article that explains how to use the search to see if the booru supports it. Anime Boxes will send anything you type on the search field to API as is, you should be getting the same as results as the site. How can I search multiple servers at the same time? ----------------------------------- You can do this using the Filter Form, app will request the same tags to multiple servers. You can customize presentation on the Settings screen, to either show separated sublist for all selected servers, or mix all the results into a single grid. On Android the Filter Form is the only way to search. Open the form and press the "Add" button, this let you pick an additional server. On iOS, open the Filter Form using the Filter button on the Navigation Bar (top left corner of the screen). Then press "Add to Search" to add another server to the list. You need to fill your server list before searching.